Owners of the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T have been wondering what the future holds for their phones now that the OnePlus 5 is here. The company recently put together a Q&A session with its Community Manager and Head of Product and posted the interview on its forums to put to rest a couple of burning questions.
The top query on any OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T’s users mind is how long the handsets will be getting software support. The company says Android O will be the last Android version update the duo will be receiving. Security patch updates are set to continue for the foreseeable future, as well as individual app upgrades.
The OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T both ran Marshmallow upon launch, so Android O will mark its second major OS update after Nougat. It’s not entirely surprising since that’s the standard release map brands like Google follow. Still, the news may come as a blow to fans hoping for a 2018 Android P update.
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Further rubbing salt on their wounds is the assertion that the Open Beta Program will begin moving entirely to the OnePlus 5 after the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T get a taste of Android O. The beta is meant to serve as a testing ground for new features, so the shift might spell the end for fresh functionalities on the older models.
Till that happens, the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T are scheduled to get the latest August security patch in an update soon. This will be followed by OxygenOS version 4.5 within the next 1 to 2 months. Eventually, the devices will catch up with the OnePlus 5’s software version with a few missing features.
That group includes off-screen gestures, Reading Mode, and DCI-P3 screen calibration. The disparity has apparently come about because of hardware differences between the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 3/3T.